# Gateshead West (UK Parliament constituency)

Gateshead West was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

## History

Gateshead West, as could be inferred from the name, formed the western part of the Borough of Gateshead, now in Tyne and Wear. The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1948 for the 1950 general election when the existing Gateshead seat was split in two. It was abolished for the 1983 general election, when the majority of the electorate was included in the new constituency of Tyne Bridge, which also included central areas of Newcastle upon Tyne. Remaining areas were transferred to Gateshead East.
It returned Labour MPs for the entire period of its existence.

## Boundaries
### 1950–1955

* The County Borough of Gateshead wards of Central, North, North West, West, and West Central.

### 1955–1964

* The County Borough of Gateshead wards of Central, East Central, North, North East, North West, West, and West Central.
The East Central and North East wards were transferred from Gateshead East.

### 1964–1983

* The County Borough of Gateshead wards of Askew, Bensham, Chandless, Claremont, Riverside, Saltwell, Shipcote, and Teams.
Minor changes to reflect redistribution of local authority wards.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1950 | John Hall | Labour |
| | 1955 by-election | Harry Randall | Labour |
| | 1970 | John Horam | Labour |
| | 1981 | John Horam | SDP |
| 1983 | 1983 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1979: Gateshead West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Horam | 13,533 | 67.24 | |
| | Conservative | DR Kelly | 5,221 | 25.94 | |
| | Liberal | Frank Patterson | 1,185 | 5.89 | |
| | National Front | H Beadle | 186 | 0.92 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,312 | 41.30 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,125 | 69.31 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Gateshead West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | John Horam | 13,859 | 68.61 |
| | Conservative | P Brown | 4,432 | 21.94 |
| | Liberal | K Stoddart | 1,909 | 9.45 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,427 | 46.67 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,200 | 65.65 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election February 1974: Gateshead West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Horam | 13,839 | 61.01 | |
| | Conservative | John Heddle | 5,372 | 23.68 | |
| | Liberal | J Bennison | 3,474 | 15.31 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,467 | 37.33 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,685 | 74.20 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1970: Gateshead West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | John Horam | 15,622 | 68.07 |
| | Conservative | John O'Sullivan | 7,328 | 31.93 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,294 | 36.14 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,950 | 66.59 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1966: Gateshead West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Harry Randall | 20,381 | 74.77 |
| | Conservative | Ernest Greenwood | 6,878 | 25.23 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,503 | 49.54 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,259 | 70.11 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1964: Gateshead West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Harry Randall | 21,390 | 68.97 |
| | Conservative | Derek R Chapman | 9,623 | 31.03 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,767 | 37.94 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,013 | 74.93 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1959: Gateshead West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Harry Randall | 21,277 | 64.90 |
| | Conservative | David A Wright | 11,509 | 35.10 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,768 | 29.80 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,786 | 76.88 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
1955 Gateshead West by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Harry Randall | 13,196 | 66.46 | +1.14 |
| | Conservative | David A Wright | 6,661 | 33.54 | −1.14 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,535 | 32.92 | +2.28 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,857 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1955: Gateshead West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | John Hall | 22,040 | 65.32 |
| | Conservative | James Quigley | 11,071 | 34.68 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,339 | 30.64 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,111 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1951: Gateshead West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | John Hall | 20,790 | 63.77 |
| | National Liberal | John S Magnay | 11,811 | 36.23 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,979 | 27.54 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,601 | 83.81 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1950: Gateshead West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Hall | 20,872 | 64.16 | |
| | National Liberal | John S Magnay | 11,660 | 35.84 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,212 | 28.32 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,532 | 83.90 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |